Laboratory of Experimental Medicine

The Laboratory of Experimental Medicine (LEM) was established in 1998 at the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital in Olomouc. Later in 2010, the LEM became a moving force in building-up and establishment of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine. 

Our researchers are organized to research groups and perform molecular, cellular and integrative research at the highest international level and to train a new generation of successful scientists. We study biological processes that govern normal and pathological human bodily functions that are involved in disease pathogenesis. Albeit our research is disease agnostic, most of our expertise relates to cancer, inflammation, infection, rare diseases and neurodegeneration. Our spectrum of research ranges from basic and translational science, including research and development of small molecules, radiopharmaceutics, identification of new therapeutic targets, drug repurposing, first use of molecules in man (Phase I trials), biomarker identification and validation trials, development of in vitro diagnostics, through to real-world evidence studies using routinely collected data.Several of our research environments have been recognized as outstanding both at the national and European levels. We also strive to stimulate our young researchers with our enthusiasm for research and wish to increase their interest in both basic and applied sciences. We expose them to the most up-to-date science, cutting edge technologies and prepare them for lifelong learning in their future careers. 

Our research interests and domains include
  • Research and development of small molecules and biologics for innovative therapies
  • Imaging and tracing of human diseases, development of radiopharmaceutics
  • Identification and validation diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers to advance early disease diagnostics and personalized medicine
  • Better understanding disease complexity employing multidimensional -omic techniques (proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, cellulomics, etc.)
  • Advancing high-throughput biology and screening techniques in medical research
  • Research on translational in vitro and in vivo models (e.g. organoids, patient-derived xenografts, induced pluripotent stem cells)
  • Development of information technologies, including the artificial intelligence, and solutions to support data stewardship in biomedical domain
  • Advancing nanotechnologies for treatment and detection of human disorders; Proof-of-concept preclinical and early clinical trials. 
ALIMAJSTOROVIC, Z., S. MOLLAN, O. GRECH, J. MITCHELL, A. YIANGOU, M. THALLER, H. LYONS, M. SASSANI, S. SENEVIRATNE, T. HANCOX, A. JANKEVICS, L. NAJDEKR, W. DUNN, A. SINCLAIR
Dysregulation of Amino Acid, Lipid, and Acylpyruvate Metabolism in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: A Non-targeted Case Control and Longitudinal Metabolomic Study. Journal of Proteome Research. 2022, 22(4), 1127-1137, ISSN: 1535-3893, PMID: 36534069,
REISSIG, F., K. ZACHSLER, Z. NOVÝ, M. PETŘÍK, K. DVOŘÁKOVÁ BENDOVÁ, D. KURFÜRSTOVÁ, J. BOUCHAL, M. ĹUDIK, F. BRANDT, K. KOPKA, M. KHOYLOU, H. PIETZSCH, M. HAJDÚCH, C. MAMAT
Modulating the pharmacokinetic profile of Actinium-225-labeled macropa-derived radioconjugates by dual targeting of PSMA and albumin. Theranostics. 2022, 12(17), 7203-7215, ISSN: 1838-7640, PMID: 36438496,
VIDLAŘOVÁ, M., E. BERTA, P. PRASIL, A. PROKOPOVÁ, S. GURSKÁ, M. KHOYLOU, A. ŘEHULKOVÁ, P. KOUŘILOVÁ, J. CHUDÁČEK, M. SZKORUPA, J. KLEIN, J. ŠKARDA, J. SROVNAL, M. HAJDÚCH
Cannabinoid receptor 2 expression in early-stage non-small cell lung cancers identifies patients with good prognosis and longer survival. Translational Lung Cancer Research. 2022, 11(10), 2040-2050, ISSN: 2218-6751, PMID: 36386452,
Project: The role of tumor hypoxia in the emergence of acquired resistance to drugs aimed at microtubules
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Doctoral training
Summary: 1 place in full-time study
Project: Generation of 3D human neuronal cultures: application to modeling CNS diseases
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Summary: -
Project: Biochemical and cellular analysis of amyloid staining agents in models of tauopathies and synucleopathies
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Summary: -
Project: Investigating Effects of Aggregates of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins on Microglia: Implication for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Summary: -
Project: Efficacy of Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Against Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Summary: -
Project: Systems approaches to understanding aging and neurodegeneration
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Role of axonal transport and pathology in neurodegeneration
Supervisors: Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Research and development of agents for cancer, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases
Supervisors: De Sanctis Juan Bautista Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Urban Milan Ph.D., Das Viswanath M.Sc., Ph.D.
Available: 5
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Isolation and analysis of membrane lipid rafts using a non-targeted metabolomics and lipidomics approach
Supervisors: Najdekr Lukáš Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Use of open-source software approaches for analysis of metabolomic and lipidomic clinical data
Supervisors: Najdekr Lukáš Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Identification of proteomic biomarkers in proximal fluids and tissues
Supervisors: Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Preclinical development of molecular imaging agents
Supervisors: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Plasmonic nanomaterials in cancer theranostics
Supervisors: Ranc Václav Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Summary: 2 places in full-time or part-time study
Project: Ligand- and structure-based modeling of biologically active compounds
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Biologically active molecules and their therapeutic combinations
Supervisors: Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Anticancer drugs targeting nucleic acid metabolism
Supervisors: Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Identification of proteomic biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate patients with systemic or pulmonary disease
Supervisors: Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D.
Available: 2
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Development of 3D pharmacophore signatures and their application in anticancer drug design
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Genetic and epigenetic biomarkers in health and disease
Supervisors: Slavkovský Rastislav Ph.D., Džubák Petr M.D., Ph.D., Hajdúch Marián M.D., Ph.D., Drábek Jiří Ph.D., Koudeláková Vladimíra Ph.D.
Available: 5
Intended for: Doctoral training
Project: Postdoctoral fellow/Researcher
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Postdoctoral training
Summary: The group of chemoinformatics and drug design at the Institute of
Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and
Dentistry, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic
(https://imtm.cz/laboratories/chemoinformatics-and-drug-design) seeks
for a postdoctoral fellow with experience in chemoinformatics and
programming.

The primary objective of the group is development of new computational
approaches and software tools in drug design and their application in
medicinal chemistry projects on hit/lead identification/optimization
and target identification.

The successful candidate will be mainly involved into the project on
de novo fragment-based drug design and optimization. He/she will
implement new and improve existing tools and approaches, validate them
retrospectively and apply those tools in ongoing medicinal chemistry
projects conducting at our institution in close collaboration with
medicinal chemists and biologists. The candidate can be involved in
other research projects depending on his/her experience and skills.

The formal requirements:
PhD in chemistry, chemoinformatics, computer science or related
fields or 3 years of experience in relevant fields
experience with molecular docking/pharmacophore modeling/machine
learning
knowledge of RDKit
good Python programming skills and experience in software
development
data analysis skills
basic medicinal chemistry knowledge is a plus
good publication record
excellent writing and spoken English

The position will be opened for 2-3 years with a possibility of
extension.

Informal inquiries as well as applications, including curriculum vitae
and bibliography, cover letter describing candidate research interests
and past accomplishments should be sent via email to
pavlo.polishchuk@upol.cz.
Project: Applicability domains in machine learning modeling
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Computationally guided optimization of compound properties
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Novel 3D pharmacophore representation for machine learning
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Fragment-based de novo design using pharmacophore models
Supervisors: Polishchuk Pavlo Ph.D., M.Sc.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Radiolabelled peptides for cancer imaging
Supervisors: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Radiolabelled siderophores for infection imaging
Supervisors: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: In vivo imaging of 68Ga labelled biomolecules
Supervisors: Petřík Miloš Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Bachelor training
Project: Small animal imaging using microPET/SPECT/CT system in preclinical developement of potential drugs
Supervisors: Nový Zbyněk Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Bachelor training
Project: Epigenetic biomarkers
Supervisors: Drábek Jiří Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training
Project: Genetic biomarkers
Supervisors: Drábek Jiří Ph.D.
Available: 1
Intended for: Master training

Research groups